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International News Title: Democracies could fail over debt crisis, warns EU president DEMOCRACY could 'collapse' in Greece, Spain and Portugal unless urgent action is taken to tackle the debt crisis, the head of the European Commission has warned. Jose Manuel Barroso set out an 'apocalyptic' vision in which crisis- hit countries in southern Europe could fall victim to military coups or popular uprisings as interest rates soar and public services collapse. Details of his briefing to trade union chiefs emerged as it was revealed that EU leaders have begun work on an emergency bailout package for Spain, which is likely to run into hundreds of billions of pounds. A Pounds 650billion bailout for Greece has already been agreed. John Monks, for-mer head of the TUC, said he mer head of the TUC, said he had been 'shocked' by the severity of the warning from European Commission president Mr Barroso, who is a former prime minister of Portugal. Mr Monks, now head of the European TUC, said: 'I had a discussion with Barroso last Friday about what can be done for Greece, Spain, Portugal and the rest and his message was blunt, "Look, if they do not carry out these austerity packages, these countries could virtually disappear in the way that we know them as democracies. They've got no choice, this is it." 'He's very, very worried. He shocked us with an apocalyptic vision of democracies in Europe collapsing because of the state of indebtedness.' Greece, Spain and Portugal, which only emerged from dictatorships in the 1970s, are all facing dire problems with their public finances. Each has a history of military coups. Greece has been rocked by a series of national strikes and riots this year following the announcement of swingeing cuts to public spending designed to curb its deficit. Spain and Portugal have also announced austerity measures in recent weeks amid growing signs that the international markets are worried they could default on their debts. Other EU countries seeing public protests over austerity plans include Hungary, Italy and Romania. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who visited Madrid last week, said the situation in Spain should serve as a warning to Britain of the perils of failing to tackle the deficit quickly. Mr Barroso's warning lays bare the concern at the highest level in Brussels that the economic crisis could lead to the collapse of not only the beleaguered euro, but the EU itself, along with a string of fragile democracies. David Cameron will travel to Brussels on Thursday for his first summit of EU leaders since the election. Leaders are expected to thrash out a rescue package for Spain's teetering economy. Spain is expected to ask for an initial guarantee of at least Pounds 100billion, although this figure could rise sharply if the crisis deepens. Mr Barroso and Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, are united on the need for a rescue plan. On Friday, the administration in Madrid continued to insist no rescue package was necessary. Moody's yesterday slashed Greece's credit rating to junk status. It was the second of the three major credit ratings agencies to give Greek bonds junk status. Standard & Poor's did the same in late April. John Humphrys - Page 15 THE DECADES OF DICTATORSHIP MR BARROSO'S warning will revive bitter memories of dictatorships in the three countries. GREECE AFTER the Second World War Greece was plunged into a civil war, which led to decades of instability. A military coup in 1967 led to the installation of the 'Regime of the Colonels'. The military regime collapsed in 1974 following Turkey's invasion of Cyprus. Democratic elections were held in 1975. SPAIN GENERAL Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War in 1939 led to Spain being isolated by the international community for decades. It did not embrace democracy again until after his death in 1975. King Juan Carlos assumed the role of head of state, overseeing the introduction of democracy in 1978. He was forced to hit the airwaves in 1981 to head off an attempted military coup. PORTUGAL A MILITARY coup in 1926 led to decades of Right-wing dictatorship. Antonio de Oliveira Salazar ruled as prime minister from 1932 to 1968. The disastrous Portuguese Colonial War lasted from 1961-74 and led to the break up of Portugal's empire. It also sparked a bloodless Left- wing military coup in April 1974. Democratic elections were held the following year.
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#1. To: Albindy (#0)
Former Portugal PM. This is Spain's Summer of '75 across 5 nations...
#67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace I'm biased, obviously, given the shit I'm subjected to daily here from the anti groupie. Badeye posted on 2010-06-10 11:34:31 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace I'm biased, obviously, given the shit I'm subjected to daily here from the anti groupie. Badeye posted on 2010-06-10 11:34:31 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
#67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace I'm biased, obviously, given the shit I'm subjected to daily here from the anti groupie. Badeye posted on 2010-06-10 11:34:31 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
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